Murphy on Don Jr.'s Russia-Funded Wedding: 'This Is As Close to Treason As You Can Get'

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Monday spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate addressing the revelations that the recent, private island wedding of President Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., was in part paid for by Umar Kremlev, a Russian oligarch and close ally of Vladimir Putin, to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Murphy argued this is just the latest example of the Trump family exploiting the presidency for their own personal profit, and accused the Trump family of abandoning Ukraine and padding the pockets of our Russian adversary in exchange for exactly this kind of luxury bribery.

Murphy detailed the shocking level of Russian involvement in Jr.'s wedding: "The Russians paid for the private island. The Russians paid for the fireworks show. The president's son even put this oligarch in charge of planning the logistics. This was a Russian party organized and paid for by someone in Vladimir Putin's inner circle. This has never happened before in the history of the United States of America. Never before has a foreign enemy of the United States paid for the family wedding of the president. Why? Because it is naked corruption in plain view."

Murphy characterized the involvement as a potential corrupt attempt to secure continued sanctions relief and friendly U.S. policy on Ukraine: "Putin doesn't pay for a wedding just to be nice. This is an arrangement in plain sight. Donald Trump has done a 180-degree turn in U.S. policy on the Russia-Ukraine war. He has cut off funding from Ukraine. Even after we appropriated money, he refuses to spend it, illegally. As recently as this weekend, he says publicly that it's Ukraine's fault that the war continues, not Russia's. In addition, Trump has suspended sanctions on the export of Russian oil and gas, … Trump has become one of Putin's most important allies, and so, like everything else in Trump's corrupt world in his second term, it just becomes this mutually beneficial deal. Trump withholds support for Ukraine, pads the pocket of the Russian government with sanctions relief, and the Russians funnel money to the family."

Murphy highlighted Trump Jr.'s efforts to cover up his bankrolling by the Russians: "The president's son, Donald Trump Jr., tried to hide this fact. He posted pictures of his wedding celebration online. There was a public conversation about whether the president was going to attend or not. But the president's son made no mention that the whole thing, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, a private island, was bankrolled by the Russians. In fact, the only face of the 50 guests that is hidden in the group photo, that you can look at right now online, is the oligarch's."

Murphy underscored the extensive conflicts of interest between Donald Trump's family and the Kremlin: "Trump's family [relies] on Russian support for their business empire. Donald Trump Jr. said this prior to when his father became president; he said, 'in terms of high-end product influx into the United States, Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross section of a lot of our assets… We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia.' [And] there is evidence that the Trump family's cryptocurrency is backed, perhaps heavily, by Russian buyers."

Murphy called on Americans of all political stripes to condemn this sort of corruption: "Donald Jr., he just basically stuffs money into his pockets from anybody who wants a favor from his father, and he just gobbles up government contracts as fast as he can. Don Jr.'s net worth was $50 million before his father's second term. In the first year that Trump was president, in his second term, Don Jr. net worth didn't double, it didn't triple, it didn't quadruple. It grew by six times in one year. $50 million, a year later, $300 million. At least 13 companies tied to the Trump brothers have captured $1.8 billion in long-term federal contracts and commitments, and $103 million in direct cash from the Trump administration; five of those companies got their first government contract ever after the Trump sons invested. That's corruption. It doesn't matter whether this is a Republican administration or a Democratic administration."

A full transcript of Murphy's speech is available below.

A full video of Murphy's speech is available here.

Thank you very much, Mr. President. Colleagues, a story broke today that the Trump family has confirmed that a Russian oligarch, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, a man whose fortune was gifted to him by Putin, paid for the private island wedding of the president of the United States's son. I'm here on the floor because I am scared to death that this is all going to start just feeling normal.

Let me say it again: a Russian oligarch, a close ally of our enemy, Vladimir Putin, a man whose fortune was gifted to him by Vladimir Putin, paid for secretly the private island wedding of the president of the United States's son. The president's son, Donald Trump Jr., tried to hide this fact. He posted pictures of his wedding celebration online. There was a public conversation about whether the president was going to attend or not. But the president's son made no mention that the whole thing, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, a private island, was bankrolled by the Russians. In fact, the only face of the 50 guests that is hidden in the group photo, that you can look at right now online, is the oligarch's. But he's there because he secretly paid for the celebration. The Russians paid for the private island. The Russians paid for the fireworks show. The president's son even put this oligarch in charge of planning the logistics. This was a Russian party organized and paid for by someone in Vladimir Putin's inner circle. This is never happening before in the history of the United States of America. Never before has a foreign enemy of the United States paid for the family wedding of the president, why? Because it is naked corruption in plain view. It is as close to treason as you get, accepting lavish gifts, millions of dollars in gifts, perhaps from the enemy of this nation. Let's spend a minute on this oligarch.

We just learned this today, so forgive me if we have scant details. I think we're going to find out a lot more about this guy in the coming days and weeks. But his name is Umar Kremlev. He is a convicted criminal. He runs a boxing company that is funded by Putin, more specifically by Gazprom, Putin's state-run gas company. He isn't just some ordinary oligarch. He's one of Putin's favorites. In addition to running this boxing association, he runs the Russian lottery. He has a monopoly on Russian sports betting. Shortly before financing and attending the Trump wedding, Kremlev and Putin were together in China. Putin brought him on a really important state visit to China. Putin has given Kremliv the highest Kremlin honor, the Order of Friendship. The Ukrainian government has sanctioned Kremlev because he is part of Putin's inner circle. All of Kremliv's money is Putin's money. He operates as an arm of Putin, as do all the Putin made oligarchs.

Before today's disclosure of his secret financing of the Trump wedding, there was no record of Donald Trump Jr. and Kremlev being great best buddies, because they aren't. It appears that they just recently met, and shortly after meeting, this close ally of Vladimir Putin offered to pay for Donald Trump's Jr. wedding. Here's what Eric Trump said today. When a reporter asks his office about Umar Kremlev, this close friend of Donald Trump Jr.'s, quote: "Eric has absolutely no clue who this person is, nor has he ever heard his name". This is Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr.'s brother, his business partner. He has never heard the name of the close associate, the close friend of Donald Trump Jr., who paid for his entire wedding. Why? Because they're not friends. This is a business deal between the Trump family and the Russian government.

This all fits two patterns. The first is the Trump's family's reliance on Russian support for their business empire. Donald Trump Jr. said this prior to when his father became president; he said, "in terms of high-end product influx into the United States, Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross section of a lot of our assets. Say in Dubai, and certainly with our project in Soho, and anywhere in New York. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia. More recently, those who have looked at the individuals who are buying Trump's cryptocurrency have noted that there is evidence that the Trump family's cryptocurrency is backed, perhaps heavily, by Russian buyers.

But the second, and more significant pattern, is this. Trump's sons, particularly Donald Jr., just brazenly profit off of their access to the White House. Donald Jr, he just basically stuffs money into his pockets from anybody who wants a favor from his father, and he just gobbles up government contracts as fast as he can. Don Jr. net worth was $50 million before his father's second term. In the first year that Trump was president, in his second term, Don Jr. net worth didn't double, it didn't triple, it didn't quadruple. It grew by six times in one year. $50 million, a year later, $300 million. At least 13 companies tied to the Trump brothers have captured $1.8 billion in long-term federal contracts and commitments, and $103 million in direct cash from the Trump administration, five of those companies got their first government contract ever after the Trump sons invested. That's corruption. It doesn't matter whether this is a Republican administration or a Democratic administration.

Now you could be offended at all of that, but you might say: "Well, this isn't that. This isn't Trump Jr. taking money from the taxpayers. This is just him taking money from the Russians. Isn't that better than him taking money from taxpayers?" Well of course it isn't, because Putin doesn't pay for a wedding just to be nice. This is an arrangement in plain sight. Donald Trump has done a 180-degree turn in U.S. policy on the Russia-Ukraine war. He has cut off funding from Ukraine, even after we appropriated money, he refuses to spend it, illegally. As recently as this weekend, he says publicly that it's Ukraine's fault that the war continues, not Russia's. In addition, Trump has suspended sanctions on the export of Russian oil and gas, which, by the way, specifically helps Gazprom, the company that funds Kremlev. Trump has become one of Putin's most important allies, and so, like everything else in Trump's corrupt world in his second term, it just becomes this mutually beneficial deal. Trump withholds support for Ukraine, pads the pocket of the Russian government with sanctions relief, and the Russians funnel money to the family. Doesn't everybody see this? Shouldn't everyone here be outraged that the president of the United States's son just had his wedding, his multi-million dollar wedding, paid for by the Russians, and he admits it?

I know that there are a lot of Republicans in the Senate who are aghast at what Trump has done to abandon Ukraine, and I know there are a lot of Republicans here who are furious at this spiraling corruption. I don't know that there's a single member of this body, Republican or Democrat, who would go on TV tonight and defend the Russian government paying for the Trump family's private island wedding. But at some point, there just has to be a bottom that the United States Senate unanimously recognizes. Does any Republican here think that you would say nothing if Hunter Biden's wedding or Malia Obama's graduation party was financed by Iranian allies in the Ayatollah. You guys would shut this place down if that were to happen. And of course you can't even imagine that happening under a different administration. Because despite all the histrionics over the Biden crime family, never before in this country, have we had a White House where the financing of a family wedding by a foreign adversary would pass as a minor scandal, that barely makes front pages. Just because the corruption happens so routinely, that to some it feels normal, which doesn't mean that it is. If we don't, on a bipartisan basis, here in the Senate, draw a line in the sand soon, it will be the end of our republic. It just will.